Billions actor, 21, arrested and charged with murder after fatal shooting-Pierra Willix-Entertainment – Metro

Actor Akili McDowell, who appeared alongside Damian Lewis in Billions, has been arrested for murder (Picture: Showtime Networks Inc/ Everett/ Shutterstock)

Actor Akili McDowell has been arrested and charged with murder.

The 21-year-old is best known for his roles in TV drama series’ David Makes Man and Billions.

However, he’s now behind bars after being charged in connection with a fatal shooting in Houston, Texas.

McDowell was booked into Harris County Jail late last week on charges of murder and theft.

The actor remains in jail on a $400,000 (£313,000) bond and is due in court on Tuesday on the theft charge and again on October 9 for the murder charge, as reported by Entertainment Weekly.

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez announced McDowell’s arrest in a statement.

The 21-year-old actor is due in court on Tuesday (Picture: Harris County Sheriff’s Office)

The shooting occurred on July 20 in the parking lot of an apartment complex near East Harris County, with the adult male victim, identified as Cesar Peralta, 20, pronounced dead at the scene.

The police chief said the investigation was ongoing and encouraged anyone with information to contact the authorities.

McDowell is best known for starring in the OWN coming-of-age drama series David Makes Man.

His manager is ‘praying for Akili and those impacted by the tragedy’ (Picture: Noam Galai/ Getty Images for FIJI Water)

Written by the co-writer of the Academy Award winning film Moonlight, Tarell Alvin McCraney, the series followed McDowell’s character who is an academically gifted prodigy in Florida looking for a way out of poverty.

The critically acclaimed show originally debuted on the Oprah Winfrey Network in 2019 and was then renewed for a second season, which premiered in 2021.

The young actor has also appeared as Savion Williams on the Paul Giamatti-led Billions and as Zavier Gibbs on The Astronaut Wives Club.

He starred in the series David Makes Man, which aired on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network (Picture:
David Livingston/ Getty Images)

His film credits include Criminal Activities starring John Travolta and The Waterboyz.

The last time the actor posted on social media was earlier last month, where he shared the trailer for the latter film.

In a statement to Metro.co.uk, McDowell’s manager, Jonell Whitt, that this was ‘an unfortunate situation’.

‘I am in prayer for Akili and those impacted by this tragedy. I respectfully have no comment at this time,’ Whitt said.

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